Pelhourino, Weird Al Yankovic, and The Little Guy

This really does feel like the "Black Rome" as it's been called. I took a small night tour of Pelhourino the other night and I fell in love with the place. The pictures I've seen don't do it justice. There's a real romance about the place. There was lots of PDA; it had that summer love feeling with young couples hand in hand, dining outside by candlelight with groups offering to play love songs for happy couples. People live right near restaurants, so some sat on balconies and hung out of windows having conversation and observing the masses walking by. With some cachaça in hand, I walked up and down the hilly cobblestone streets, stopping to peek into some of the cool looking bars and stores that were playing interesting music. There was this huge Reggae place where there was a stage set up - looks like they have frequent performances there. Of course they were blasting Bob Marley and I got many thumbs up for wearing my Bob Marley shirt. I have to return there when they have an event. Outside of the gorgeous views from many spots in town and the colorful, colonial architecture, it was the many African-inspired shops that caught my eye. One lady was painting this beautiful, regal African woman on the street, completely consumed by her art. I peered into her shop which had figures dressed in African attire painted in every hue imaginable. I loved that she didn't even notice me; she was in love with her art. One of the questions I want to ask here, through my acquaintance with the music and cultural displays, is how Africa is imagined in Bahia and how that conflicts with others' usage of Africa as a symbol, an enduring metaphor. I know people usually take acceptance when someone speaks of Africa as a monolith (when it's done in ignorance, it certainly deserves reproach), but when its used as it was in those bars and shops, through the rhythm of the local music and the antique "African" items being sold to tourists, Africa as a monolith seems empowering. Its imagery lends itself not only to tangible commercial success for small businesses, but also to a strong Afro-Brazilian identity. As I listened to some Gilberto Gil and sat down with my friend to a quick snack and drink, I thought of how infused with meaning Africa was in this context - and how different it was from my very experientially defined notion of Africa (which itself is unstable and ever-changing, especially when I went to that weird party in South Africa where I was one of two black people, and every girl was blonde with a small skirt, and every guy looked like one of those kids that hang at the Jersey shore!). Anyway, it was a charmed night, and on this relatively peaceful Pelhourino night, I left with many questions.

Yesterday, my host mom showed me a bit more around town. We drove to Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, which was cool. There was gold everywhere and the priest blessed me, although he was a little rough with his holy water - hit me right in the eye, haha. The highlight of our little day together though was at Parque Regional de Manutenção, a cool area right near the water surrounding a giant old fort. I finally got to see capoeira in action here. What was fun about this roda (circle) was all the really little kids that were doing it. They were all adorable, and so nervous. It reminded me of how scared I was at my first basketball games. This one little girl looked completely oblivious though and just stared at the head guy as he flipped like 5 times; she was not having it. She had a hint of stankness in her face that read "I ain't doin this mess, embarass yourself!" I loved it. After that we sat and listened to a band play some music - it was an interesting mix between rock and samba. The head guy who played the guitar looked EXACTLY like Weird Al Yankovic, I'm not even joking. It took me a minute to convince myself that can't be him. He really stood out among the group. The music was really good though I have to say. They had the drums, the percussion, the guitar, the vocals, and some other stuff. Some of the younger people looked puzzled and judgmental, but most people liked it! There was the cutest little boy though, with a red cap, a yellow shirt, and his own little play guitar who was real into the music. His 2 feet tall self stood in front of the band and acted like he was the leader. He occassionally looked around at everyone to see if their eyes were on him. He played as if he was challenging Weird Al, and I wanted the little guy to win.